Oleg Cassihi, who or the next
our years will reign as the exclusive
designer or the First Lady, chats
with the Kennedys at a sociaJ aair.
Marilyn Monroe, two of Jack Kennedy's
sisters and his mother, and such women as
Countess d'Ribes and Countess Crispi, who
are considered, among the. beat-dressed in
international society. -
The hardest assignment he ever had was
dressing Gene Tierney. "She was a funda
mental turning point in my life," he recalls.
"I was deeply in love with her, and I was
inspired to make her even more beautiful.
Like every young girl, she had her own ideas
about clothes and thought she knew her own
style and wanted me to design ruffled, youth
ful dresses. Then, as now, I knew the secret f
of elegance is utter simplicity and under
playing. After a while, I dominated her view
point, but not without struggle."
The easiest client he has ever had was
Marilyn Monroe. "She would accept every- :
thing I showed her, The idea here was not to
take advantage of her obvious attributes and
yet to display them adequately. Marilyn
Monroe will never look like the Duchess of
Windsor and she likes it that way. Yet it was
interesting making her chic as well."
GRACE KELLY was another kind of problem.
Fundamentally a serious actress, she
thought of clothes only for performances,
and in private life at that time tended to
like flat heels, glasses, and comfortable old
sweaters and skirts. "Old clothes are like
old friends," "was her favorite remark.
Cassini's job was to interest her in clothes,
to encourage her to take more than a pass
" ing interest in how she looked.
In 1938, when he was employed as a de
signer at Paramount Pictures, he was given
a newcomer named Veronica Lake, who was
appearing in her first starring picture, "I
.Wanted Wings." To make her into a vivid
personality, he cut her hair in a long peek
aboo bob which hid one eye, and put her
into clinging dresses. The ''Veronica Lake
Look" was so widely ' copied that during
the war the Government asked the studio
to modify it, because women in war plants
couldn't see to do their jobs. well with only
one eye. -' ( Continued on page 1 7)
being "foreign or extravagant'
Family Weekly, April 23. mi
L il 1